Discovery
by girliestarkid
Summary: The slight disturbance that came a moment later – the door to the hospital proper opening, accompanied by a small, pained gasp – was enough of a distraction from the monotony that Dr. Cullen raised his head in curiosity. What he saw was a young, auburn-haired girl in hospital issued pajamas whose face was creased with pain standing in the doorway.
1. Prologue

**A/N Quick note before I start - if you like this story and want me to continue, please tell me – in a review, by PM, or by favoriting or following. (I know, everyone says this, but why not follow the crowd this once? :D) Also, if anyone wants to beta, I would love the help. :) Anyway, this was a random plot bunny that has been in my head for a while now and has been itching to get out. Now, onto the story!**

**Prologue**

It had been a long, slow day at Forks Hospital, and Dr. Carlisle Cullen was ready to go home. Dusk was fast approaching, and so was the end of his shift. All that there was left to do was take one last check on the ER and finish up his paperwork. As it was, he was leaning against the desk of the ER at that very moment, looking over an old patient's file.

It was quiet in the normally busy room, only a few patients on the narrow hospital beds that made up most of the space. Most, if not all, were sleeping or resting. The slight disturbance that came a moment later – the door to the hospital proper opening, accompanied by a small, pained gasp – was enough of a distraction from the monotony that Dr. Cullen raised his head in curiosity.

What he saw was a young, auburn-haired girl in hospital issued pajamas whose face was creased with pain standing in the doorway. He watches her, concerned, as she traces her hand over the wall and slides down into a chair. The girl leans back against the wall as he makes his way over to her, her thin, bony hand tight across her abdomen. His face wrinkled in concern, the blonde doctor squatted in front of her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, scanning her body for any signs of obvious injury, while also sniffing the air to see if he could smell something wrong with her. But, alas, it was fruitless, as there seemed to be no obvious injuries and he couldn't smell anything out of the ordinary on her.

The girl's eyes opened sluggishly, and she looked at him confusedly.

"'m… fine…" she said, her head listing to the left. Dr. Cullen frowned infinitesimally, and held up a finger.

"Follow this with your eyes," he ordered. The girl slowly lifted her eyes to his, and then slowly followed his finger. "Good," Dr. Cullen said. That was the last thing the girl heard before she fainted.

He caught the girl, finding her surprisingly light, even for a human. But he pushed that thought to the back of his mind, and picked the girl up, setting her on a nearby gurney. The girl groaned upon contact with the bed, and began to writhe, moaning. Twisting away from the surface, she whimpered softly. So, instead of trying to restrain her – which would probably do more harm than good – he administered a sedative, and after a small sigh left her, the girl was quiet.


	2. Chapter 1

**8/19/13 - This is just an edit on my part. One of my friends was reading this and they told me about some mistakes so I fixed them.**

**A/N A quick update! Yay! A warning though - this is a rarity! I do my best, but unfortunately I usually take a while to write. Also, thanks are in order! Thanks to :**

**YesReally, the first follower for this story.  
Lisa and spockdatabones, who reviewed.  
.37, who followed and PMed me.  
sweetbabyboo, who followed, favorited, and reviewed.**

**Also, thanks to anyone who read this story. Don't forget to review!**

* * *

**THE ONE AND ONLY DISCLAIMER! : I do not own the Twilight Saga. That is the wonderful Stephanie Meyer, who I - unfortunately - am most definitely not.**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

_Carlisle POV_

She looked… fragile, this poor human girl. Her skin was pale, and she was barely more than skin and bones, her body so thin and breakable that I was almost afraid to touch her, fearing she might shatter under my strength.

I sighed as I watched her eyes roving underneath her lids, and heard her breathing out softly. I took her delicate wrist and read the hospital bracelet there.

_Adrianna  
Female  
Room 217  
Lancaster Wing_

I found it odd that those were the only words on the bracelet – no last name, no birth date, nothing but her first name, her sex, her room number, and the wing it was housed in. That was odd, but for the moment, it had all the information I needed.

* * *

"Hello, Sarah," I said walking up to the reception desk and giving a small smile to the nurse seated within. I could hear her heartbeat begin to speed up, and my grin grew a bit wider. Oh, if Esme were here… I didn't let myself finish that thought. There would be plenty of time later, when I wasn't working, and we could just… be. "Would you be able to search a room number and a name for me?" I asked.

"Of course, of course!" said Sarah, flustered. "What is the name?"

"Adrianna."

"And the room number?" she asked, her head tilted up at me, now solely focused on her work.

"217. In the Lancaster Wing." Her fingers paused on the keys.

"Oh. _That_ Adrianna," she said, a hint of distaste in her tone. I was intrigued. Who was this girl?

"Yes. What about her?" I asked, leaning closer. Sarah mirrored my actions on the other side of the desk. She looked down the hallways before she began to speak.

"Well," said Sarah, eager to share this seemingly juicy gossip, "They say she's possessed. Whenever anyone touches her, she shrieks. Whenever she touches something, she shrieks. And," she leaned even closer to me. "She always seems to be ill in some new way every few days, be it the mind or body, and the doctors can't figure out why. Every test they run comes back clean, every panel pristine."

Sarah leaned back into her chair and I was still, thinking. This girl defied medical sense – what Sarah was talking about was impossible! Clearly, the girl was very obviously ill in some way – anyone with eyes could see that. But I just didn't understand the facts the way they were given to me. _Well, would I have understood vampirism either?_

That thought gave me pause. What if what was wrong with Adrianna was… supernatural, in some way? Based on what I had heard from Sarah, it seemed likely.

"Hmmm…"

"Eerie, huh?" said Sarah, a sort of smug smile on her face, which disappeared almost as soon as it had appeared. "Why are you asking, anyway? Is she a patient of yours?"

"She is now," I said mildly, and walked away from the desk and Sarah's slack jawed face.

* * *

I walked down to the Lancaster Wing, thinking deeply about the situation for the duration of the walk. What should I do with Adrianna? She was in the ER for now, but the girl couldn't stay there forever. She needed a permanent room, and a place where her symptoms would be treated. _She shouldn't come back to this place,_ I thought. They didn't know how to help her, and judging by Sarah's reaction, they seem to be making it worse. _Maybe… _The wheels in my head were turning round and round. With renewed vigor, I continued forward. I stopped outside an office, very much like my own, that bore the placard, "Dr. James Lawson, Doctor of Psychiatry." I raised my fist to the door to knock and received a loud, "Come in!" in return. So I turned the handle and stepped inside.

* * *

"No."

"Come now, James, can't you see –" I said, my tone bordering on annoyance.

"See what, Carlisle?" asked James with an expectant expression, his tone challenging. "See that the girl is a lost cause? See that she is well past the point of no return?"

"There is no 'point of no return', and no lost causes, James," I said softly. At this James laughed.

"Carlisle, even if you had a way to help her, she wouldn't stand for it. _That_ is why she is a lost cause. That girl doesn't want to get better, and you can't change her mind. Believe me, we've tried," James said with a long suffering sigh.

"But it can't hurt to try," I added. "You have only had her here – mainly treating her mind and not her body, when it should be the other way around." I paused here, my mind going back to the sight of the girl earlier. "Have you seen her, James?" I asked, my voice quiet and subdued. His head bowed, acknowledging that her situation seemed dire. "She's skin and bones, and very obviously sick. Her body is failing her, and you aren't stopping it." My tone was soft, yet James' head whipped up and he looked at me with slow-burning anger.

"I told you, she won't _let_ us help her!"

"It is not a matter of _letting_ you help her; it is a matter of helping her _without her knowledge_." James calmed a bit, his head drifting down again, obviously thinking about what I had said, his lips pursed. "I can try to help her, James. I know I can make her well."

James nodded absently, still mulling over what I had said. He looked back up at me from behind his desk and said, "Alright, Carlisle, I can transfer her into your care. We'll treat it as an experiment of sorts, hmm? I will give you a month, and if she improves, she will be permanently under your care. If not… well, she would come back here," James said, his tone almost apologetic. I considered this. I was not expecting his stipulations, but it allowed me to help this poor girl, so I had no choice but to accept.

"Agreed," I said, my voice firm, as I rose from the seat in front of his large mahogany desk. James rose as well, and we shook on the agreed terms. As I turned toward the door, James called out, "One suggestion I have for you – make sure you put her in a room so that you can observe her without her notice. She puts on an act whenever there is someone in the room – she only lets down her guard when she's alone." I nodded in response. Maybe when she was by herself, she would display symptoms that others had missed, and maybe I could help her while others couldn't.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N Hey, another update! I am on a roll for these (relatively) long and quick updates - at least, compared to my other story. Also - Adrianna's first appearance, POV wise! Yay! I am, to put it mildly, simply overwhelmed by the amount of feedback I am getting on this story. So a huge thanks to everyone who has read! Special thanks are owed to :  
Lovetta Dream, thepinktabby, SammyBabe16, Just4Me, Selene Rose Grey, mione boleyn, and hollycullen5, who are new followers to this story.  
catharticone, Ravenna nightxxx, and stwifan, who followed and reviewed.  
And, last but not least, epiclove4u, who favorited and reviewed.**

**Also, if anyone calls me on it, I do not know if any of these medical situations and such are realistic. I have not been to med school, or ever been admitted to the hospital, so I have no basis of knowledge except for the internet and television. :) And as we all know, the internet lies. **

* * *

**Chapter 2**

_Carlisle POV_

An hour after my shift originally ended, I finally got all the details of Adrianna's accommodations hammered out. At least, all the pressing details. There were still a few things that needed working out in the morning, but they could wait. For tonight, I needed to go home to my beautiful wife before Esme started worrying.

So I grabbed my jacket and keys, and made my way out of my office, shutting and locking the thin wooden door behind me. Before I left, I reminded myself to make a quick pit stop at the desk of the night nurse on duty for Adrianna's floor, to tell her to page me if the girl woke up or if anything dire happened. With everything in order, I left the hospital content, and made my way to my black Mercedes.

* * *

On the drive back, my mind was still on Adrianna and the puzzle that was her predicament. If her situation was truly caused by something supernatural, how would I treat it? And, what sort of thing would cause this? I mulled it over during the short ride, my previously pleased mood souring. I know that Jasper sensed this as I walked in, and after a look at me, he used his gift to soothe my frustration. I gave a sigh as I sat down on the couch across from him and rubbed my temples.

"Thank you, Jasper."

In my peripheral vision, I saw him give a short nod before asking, "What had you so worked up?" I lifted my head from my hands, and met his curious golden eyes.

"Work. I got a new patient earlier this evening, and she is a difficult case." Jasper gave another nod, and then got up, turning to leave.

"You'll figure it out, Carlisle. You always do," he said over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.

My head fell back into my hands. I still had no answers as to what I was going to do with Adrianna. Jasper's faith in me was reassuring, but my faith in myself was not as strong as his in me. I let out another gust of air before rising to search out Esme. If anyone could calm my troubled mind, it would be my wonderful wife.

* * *

_Adrianna POV_

When I woke up, my head was pounding. I tried to roll over in my half conscious state, but I felt an uncomfortable tugging on my hand. I woke up fully, and barely suppressed a scream. I grimaced as the terrible memories rushed through me, from all the objects I was in contact with. The IV, which had been the pull I felt in my hand. The leads. The bed. Even the sheets – all of these things had the memories of sickness, sadness, _death_, and I was privy to all of them. I felt every cough, every ache, every pain of anyone who had ever come in contact with these objects. Sometimes psychometry is a bitch.

With a short huff of frustration, I tore off the leads, tore out the IV – _ow, that had hurt_ – and pulled my knees up to my chest on the thin hospital bed. I had thought I was so used to the flow of memories by now that these wouldn't affect me, but every time was just like the first time I had unwittingly been pulled into a memory. I was always shocked anew and shaken down to my core.

That first time is fuzzy to me – I was so young, I can barely remember it; I can scantily see flashes of bright light and a tall, shadowed man when I try. But I can remember this feeling clearly – this feeling of loss, this feeling of intrusion.

Even though not all the memories are bad, ever since I had arrived in this damn hospital, every memory is like the ones I've just experienced. Of death, of pain and hurt. I know what it is to fear the death that you can't escape, can't avoid. The dark and never-ending abyss all too familiar to me, though I have never even been close to reaching it myself. Ever since that day a year ago, these feelings – gut-wrenching fear, sadness, and pain – were my constant companions, thanks to the memories I had no control over.

Distantly, broken out of my reverie by a shrill mechanical note, I notice that I am shuddering, shaking, my knees pulled up to my chest, my eyes staring blankly out at the wall in front of me. My teeth so tightly clenched my jaw aches.

I heard running feet, and sensed that someone has come into the room. I don't raise my head.

The sound of running continues, and I see more people in the hallway in my peripheral vision. They have a cart with them, a cart with the machine that restarts your heart. I shivered. The memories are only too clear about that machine.

I dimly heard the person who had entered earlier – a man, a doctor, I can see that now – slowly closing the door, standing with his back to me. The door fits into its frame with a gentle _woosh_, and the man turns. He very slowly walks over to the machine that is incessantly beeping and turns it off. I followed his movements in my peripheral vision as the doctor moved to the one other piece of furniture in the room – the chair in the corner – and studied me solemnly for a moment. A second later, I found myself looking at him just as studiously. I am somewhat shocked at his young age – he only looks like he is in his mid-thirties! – and I hope the shock doesn't show on my face. He is about middling height – not too tall, but not short – with short honey-blonde hair, and a straight, aristocratic nose. He was handsome enough, I supposed, with pretty boy features that most male models would kill for. _He has nothing on Aaron_, I thought.

Aaron. _Aaron... _

_No,_ I told myself, forcing thoughts of him away. _Not now._

I refocused on the hospital room around me. The blonde doctor had not moved, and his stare had never wavered. Discomfited with his gaze, I curled up in the fetal position on the bed, refusing to look at the man. We sat like this in silence for a minute or two, this new doctor and I, before he softly spoke, breaking it.

"Adrianna?"


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N I have the best readers, but I am a truly terrible person. I am so incredibly sorry for the long wait for this chapter! And it's not even a long chapter! Gah, I don't want to make excuses, but I have just been so busy! School started, and we all know what craziness that is. Getting away from that un-fun subject, I have news - this story has now surpassed my Vampire Diaries story in all categories across the board except for words! Yay! You guys are awesome! Thanks! And here are some more thank yous...  
****Thanks to:  
NicoleCC, VampireAcademyLuver98, Theluckyturtle, Sarmoo123, and RiaKiki, who are new followers. Welcome!  
ijuska, YourQueen, and unhappycrazygirl for favoriting.  
nowell97, fey4life, and shakia-illanious09 for favoriting ****_and _****following!  
hollycullen5 and catharticone, my amazing reveiwers!  
And, last but by no means least, MindlessScrawlings, who reviewed and followed!**

**Also, since I still don't have a beta (hint hint) this is the best I could do. Tell me if there are any errors! Thanks!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_Adrianna POV_

I looked up over to the doctor with wary eyes. I curled myself into an even tighter ball as he stood and cautiously walked over to the bed. He hesitated, his hand hovering over my shoulder, as if considering putting his hand there. His hand that would give me more memories, more pain. I flinched away, closing my eyes tightly, putting more distance between the offensive appendage and my too-sensitive skin. The doctor retracted his hand slowly, also looking at me with wary eyes. He took a step back.

"I won't hurt you," he told me very softly, his voice like music, like a one-instrument symphony. My eyes widened. _Voices don't sound like that_, I thought, perturbed by this for reasons I did not yet know. I warily moved into a sitting position, and studied this doctor for the second time, this time more closely.

The first thing I noticed were his unnatural eyes – they were twin pools of liquid gold. This added to my feeling of unease – there was something weird about this doctor. As I continued my dissection of this doctor's appearance, I could see that my first analysis was a bit skewed. I could see that this man was much taller than I had originally guessed – maybe six foot three? I had no way of telling for sure. And boy, did I seem off about his age. He looked barely 24 – nowhere even close to my earlier estimate. As I scrutinized his face, I found my original assessment almost spot on, his harshly beautiful features just screaming perfection. But still… my Aaron was the only man who could truly catch my eye.

My eyes unfocused again as I became lost in thought. Aaron – my one constant in all of this madness. My lifeline, my rock, my heart. All six feet of tall, dark and handsome was _mine_, just as all of me was his, unconditionally and forever.

I heard a throat clear and reluctantly came back out of my musings, my eyes coming back to rest on the young doctor in front of me. He made his way forward again, and carefully sat down on the edge of the thin hospital mattress. I had been frozen since the moment he took the first step toward me. My muscles were taut, my whole being tense with alarm.

_Don't get too close, don't get too close…_ I internally chanted. I did _not_ want to be pulled into this doctor's memories, and most definitely did not want to take his pain – I had already taken more than my fair share from this week, and didn't need Aaron on me about taking even more when he came to visit tonight.

"Hello, Adrianna," the doctor's melodic voice chimed, returning my concentration to him. "I'm Dr. Cullen. I believe we met briefly earlier, in the ER, do you remember?"

Now that he mentioned it, I could remember the whole fiasco down in the Emergency Room, where I had come in unprepared for the pain and sickness there. Taking the two concussions from the high school jocks is what had done me in and caused me to faint. I felt myself nod slowly. Dr. Cullen seemed pleased.

"I'm glad," he said. He looked down at my hand, specifically the minute wound where the IV had torn out. His eyes caught mine once more. "May I?" I absently nodded once more.

The doctor's icy cold, yet gentle hands picked up mine and examined the small wound there. I tensed, and pulled my hand away rapidly, not wanting the current of memories to commence its assault on my senses. Dr. Cullen looked back at me calmly, caution prevalent in his eyes. His angelic face serene, he asked again if he could examine my hand, and this time I responded appropriately with a vigorous shake of my head. Letting out a big gust of air, he said to me, "Okay, Adrianna. Would you like to bandage it yourself, since you seem so adverse to me attempting it?"

I considered this doctor. I was surprised he had relented so easily – I would usually have to make a big deal out of the whole thing so that I would be able to do it myself. This doctor was certainly odd.

I gave a short jerk of my head to show my assent. He turned to get the bandage and another needle. When he faced me once more, the supplies in hand, his eyes held a spark of mischief that I couldn't understand. I warily took the supplies and began to address the wound on my hand.


End file.
